'Swamped' Kiwis cope with floods

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A group of former Southland residents survived a night sheltering in their cars when a cyclone battering the east coast of Australia cut off road access to an emergency shelter.

Former Invercargill resident Kris Ansell, speaking from Boyne Island, just south of the port city of Gladstone in Queensland, said he and fellow Southlander Matt Peterson and Mr Peterson's family were forced to evacuate their homes in Boyne Island in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Southlanders found themselves in the path of ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

Queensland police and emergency service workers ordered a mandatory evacuation when Lake Awoonga - the main water supply for the Gladstone region - broke, Mr Ansell said.

However, when the Southlanders attempted to make it to an emergency evacuation shelter, they were cut off by floodwaters.

"We couldn't get through to the shelter and we couldn't really go back so we found high ground and spent the night trying to sleep in our cars," he said.

"There were 11 of us, all from Invercargill and Gore, in three cars, including Matt's kids."

Despite the heavy rain and strong winds, everyone remained calm and did their best to look after the children, Mr Ansell said.

Residents of Boyne Island had eventually returned home to flooded homes and cars.

The water levels receded during the night and since Sunday the community had been cleaning up.

"The whole street just got stuck in," he said.

"Out of the disaster there has been an amazing spirit in the community.

"I didn't realise there were so many Kiwis here until we all met cleaning up."

Mr Peterson said his children, Hunter, 8, and Deakon, 7, had coped with the situation very well during a pretty rough 24-hour period